In building the city we love, how do we measure the unmeasurable?

"A great building, in my opinion, must begin with the unmeasurable, go through measurable means when it is being designed, and in the end must be unmeasurable."

Led by curators from SIA, Ar. Melvin Tan, Ar. Adrian Lai and Ar. Wong Ker How, "WHEN IS ENOUGH, ENOUGH?_ - The Performance of Measurement"_ aims to visualise how we can measure the intangible, unmeasurable qualities of a community’s interaction with their urban environment as encapsulated by six qualities – agency, attachment, attraction, connection, freedom and inclusion.

Buildings and the built environment are designed and built according to measurable and quantifiable standards. Yet a community’s interaction with their environment is intangible and not measured within these same markers. As cities are increasingly designed to be more people-centric and loveable, the need to redefine ‘innovation in design’ to link both the measurable and intangible realms of architecture is important. The Singapore Pavilion seeks to encourage dialogue about additional ways of measuring and evaluating the intangible qualities of architecture, and asks in particular: how much is enough?

At the Pavilion’s centre is the Values Measurement Machine, a spectacular series of analogue plotting machines marking data on five-metre-tall calligraphic scrolls. Visitors are invited to respond to six questions that relate to the intangible elements of the city and reflect on the qualities that can enhance our urban landscape to a more loveable one. Navigating through a spectrum of artistic renders, visitors will pinpoint the critical balance of qualities to evoke their desired habitat, weighing their preferences and registering these values at the Pavilion. These participatory acts form the body of the artwork and their choices will be plotted on the large calligraphic scrolls over the six months of the exhibition, creating a dynamic display of the audience’s desires.

Accompanying the machine are exhibits containing over 40 other questions for visitors to learn more about the individuals and their research work involved. In particular, their work in measuring intangibles while designing for topics such as dementia and neurodiversity, rewilding, biodiversity, nutrition, and biomimicry ecosystems.

Co-commissioned by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore and DesignSingapore Council, the exhibition is curated by the Singapore institute of Architects.